†Chapter 8: Humans and Beast Bloods†

 

 

 

†Chapter 8: Humans and Beast Bloods†

 

ZELAIDE didn’t return home until dusk.

The police rushed to the scene after receiving word of an attack in Downtown, but he wasn’t the type to quietly sit around waiting for them. Instead, he sent a D-com to Manuela and quickly made himself scarce by disappearing from the backstreets. He was familiar with the area, and he found little activity in the rest of Out Circle once he slipped out of the eerily deserted metalworking sector.

Zelaide walked for a distance, keeping an eye on his surroundings, until he came across the den Manuela had directed him to and vanished inside. She arrived soon after him but left at his request to pick up new clothes. While she was out, he showered off the stench of blood and gunpowder smoke clinging to his body.

“Here are the clothes you wanted,” Manuela said, handing him the clothes when she returned. “Sorry it took me a while. Not too many stores carry your size.”

“You have my thanks. Here’s payment.” Zelaide threw a roll of cash on top of the table without counting it, as was his custom.

“I feel bad always accepting so much from you… Would you like to do it before you go?” the prostitute invited, seductively swaying her hips.

“Not today.”

“Oh?” Manuela directed a gaze brimming with curiosity at him as he shrugged on a new black leather jacket over his black shirt.

His clothes reeked of blood and a nasty gash ruined the sleeve of his leather jacket, but she couldn’t smell it on him after he rinsed off. Manuela assumed Zelaide was in the middle of yet another dangerous job. It didn’t interest her, and she spared no concern for his injuries, either. Beast Bloods stopped bleeding fast, and the wounds would likely heal by tomorrow.

But Manuela’s keen sense of smell picked up on something out of place—something having nothing to do with blood or sweat. She narrowed her golden eyes beneath her thick eyelashes.

“What?” Zelaide grunted.

“I knew it. You…aren’t giving off a male scent right now.”

“…You can tell?”

“Any female Beast Blood can tell.”

Zelaide had nothing to say about that.

“Did you possibly find your mate?”

“…Who knows?”

“Looks like you won’t need me to comfort you anymore.”

“…I don’t know. But thanks for everything, anyway.”

“None necessary. It’s my job… To be honest, it does feel kind of lonely to lose you. You’re going to become a better man by the day now that you’ve found your mate.”

“Enough ‘bout me. Is your kid well?”

Manuela’s irreplaceable treasure was her ten-year-old son. Beast Blood women could only bear one child, which was why the Dek’Shen Cycle drove them crazy until they gave birth.

“Yup, he’s a spunky one. He’s starting to resemble his late-father more with every passing day. A good man, that one was,” Manuela said, her voice melodic and lyrical. Her son’s father had been her mate.

Like most of their species, her mate had worked as a Hunter. He lost his life in a trap set by human Inferni. Manuela would never take another mate again, for Beast Bloods bonded for life.

“Gonna raise your boy as a Hunter?” Zelaide asked, zipping up his jacket.

“Nope. He’s a relatively docile boy. Makes me wonder who he takes after. He reads these difficult books I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around. He loves to study, even though he can’t attend school like human children. I would be thrilled if he became a dashing Hunter like his father, but you never know when a Hunter will die, so I want him to choose for himself. My line of work lets me know things are becoming especially dangerous these days.”

“Because of Nightz?”

“Definitely the Nightz. The price dropped to dirt cheap recently; even the young kids can get their hands on it as easy as candy. If that’s not bad ‘nough, rumor has it Nightz are slowly spreading through the upper-classes too.”

“Is that intel from a client?”

“Pretty much, yeah. But I don’t care about them. As long as nothing happens to my boy, I couldn’t care less about humans. I only work this job for that boy, anyway,” Manuela admitted frankly.

“I see… Then use this to buy him more books,” Zelaide said, pulling another wad of cash out of his pocket and placing it on top of the table.

“This much? Sorry for the trouble, but I gratefully accept.”

“Bye, then.” Zelaide turned to leave.

“…Zel?” Manuela called after him.

“What?”

“Just so you know…you are always welcome back here…if you need me. Things still aren’t going well between you and your partner, right?”

“…How do you know that?” Zelaide clipped, a sharp bite to his tone.

“I told you, it’s ‘cause I’m a Beast Blood female… We can tell. You smell lonely.” Manuela offered him a gentle smile. It wasn’t the smile of a woman trying to wheedle her way into a man’s heart, but of a mother looking after her son. “I can tell.”

“Is that so?”

Zelaide suddenly realized he’d never sleep with this woman again. Not just this woman either—never again would he sleep with any other woman other than one.

Is this…what it means to find your mate? Zelaide’s pupils constricted. Something began to stir in the depths of his heart.

“Zel? Is it possible you…” Manuela let the question hang when she saw his taut cheeks.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not that. I haven’t gotten myself a mate yet. I’m just tired from an annoyin’ job I accepted. See you around, Manuela.” Zelaide waved with an intentional amicability as he walked out of the den.

The door shut behind him and his heavy footsteps faded into the distance. Manuela continued to stare after him for a long time. “You poor child…”

†††

“WELCOME home. You’re pretty late today,” Euphemia commented, looking up from the stovetop when he walked into the room. It looked like she had been cooking the entire time Zelaide was away. Red stew simmered inside the pot, its contents nice and thick from stewing since the afternoon.

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. Things took longer than expected… Did somethin’ happen?” he asked.

“You could say something did and didn’t happened.”

“Which is it?”

“Well, Miss Palmina came while you were out, Zel.”

“Pal did? Why?” Zelaide asked, sniffing the air. The lingering scent of Palmina’s perfume had been cleared away by the running exhaust hood and the delicious smell of soup filling the kitchen. Beast Bloods possessed much sharper senses than human, but were outmatched by Muta.

“To restock and check the supplies, she said.”

“Oh yeah, forgot to tell her you would be here today. She normally comes when nobody’s home.”

“Yeah, that’s what she said. How do you guys discuss work then? Isn’t Miss Pal your agent, Zel? I know you can talk anytime by IHT, but aren’t there delicate jobs you can only discuss in person?”

“I drop by her office for those. I don’t want people in this house if I can help it.”

“So I’m a nuisance, huh?” Euphemia said softly. “Sorry…” Her delicate brow wrinkled with dejection.

“No… I wasn’t saying that ‘bout you. You’re…how do I put it…well, special.”

“I’m special…?”

“Yeah, you’re a job from the mayor…”

Oh, he meant that kind of special. The excitement ballooning in her chest deflated faster than it inflated. He probably wouldn’t tell me even if I asked him what he thinks of Miss Palmina.

Sharp pain stabbed at Euphemia’s chest as she fought to keep her features schooled. Palmina said she’s special to Zelaide too. Do our “specials” share the same meaning, or not…?

“I mean,” he continued, “I have to protect you no matter what.”

“Yeah… I’m depending on you… But, Zel?”

“What?”

“Did something happen? You’re wearing different clothes from this morning.”

“Huh? Oh, I ran into a bit of trouble… I changed because my clothes got dirty.” Zelaide removed his jacket as if nothing was wrong, but Euphemia immediately spotted the injury on his upper left arm.

“Oh no! You’re hurt! Were you attacked?!” she cried, running over to him.

“Attacked? Nah. You’re blowin’ it outta proportion—it wasn’t anything big,” Zelaide said quickly to placate her. “Just a little brawl. This cut’s nothin’ more than a scratch.”

“But it’s a pretty big cut. A knife wound? …No, from the looks of it, this was the work of a smaller, sharp weapon…”

“It’s a scratch. Just screwed up a bit. It’s stopped bleeding, it’ll heal soon. But hey, you really do have the eyes of a scientist. You can tell weapon types just by lookin’ at the injury?”

“I perform dissections sometimes, so I’m good with knives…” Euphemia dismissed, opening the cabinet she had seen him store medicine in before. “Were you attacked by people involved with the douchebags who attacked me?” The cabinet was packed to the brim with brand-new medical items, and she found the bandages right away. She picked the widest bandage with antibacterial cream already on it.

“Probably not. I ran into Inferni, members of the Infernum Syndicate. They indiscriminately attack every Beast Blood they see. I doubt they’re connected to you, Yumi.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But either way, they won’t be moving anytime soon, so it’s all good. Ah, I don’t need ya to look at my wound. I don’t want anythin’ excess getting in my way.” Zelaide dodged Euphemia as she reached out to tend to his cut, and pointed at the bubbling pot. “Anyways, I’m starved. Can we eat that yet?”

“…It’s ready. But shouldn’t you at least wrap a bandage around it? Doesn’t it hurt when your clothes rub against it?”

“It doesn’t hurt,” Zelaide replied, circling to the other side of the table to escape Euphemia’s touch.

Euphemia gave up tending to his wounds and pulled out the bowls. She mulled over his odd behavior as she ladled heaps of soup into his bowl.

He’s acting strange. It’s almost like he’s on edge…

Euphemia could guess the ambush was worse than he alluded to. In all probability, the Inferni who’d attacked him were human. She didn’t know much about Infernum, but she’d heard stories about a group that targeted Beast Bloods out of resentment and who viewed Beast Bloods as subhuman savages. If being attacked by people like them was common for him, then perhaps Palmina wasn’t lying when she said Zelaide hated humans.

She also said that there’s a huge discrepancy between a Beast Blood’s real age and mental age.

According to Palmina, Zelaide was actually around forty years old, despite looking like an attractive young man in the prime of his youth. Yet, she claimed his mental age could be in its teenage years.

No matter how Euphemia looked at Zelaide, his face lit by the dwindling sunlight, he was a magnificent adult. His stunning silver hair framed the sharp features of his face.

“Gorgeous…”

“Huh?”

Apparently, she’d uttered what she was thinking aloud. Euphemia turned red— and if she wasn’t mistaken, Zelaide bashfully averted his gaze from her.

“Are you gonna give that to me before the sun sets?”

“Oh, sorry. D-Do you want some bread?”

“Yeah.”

Euphemia put down the bowl and picked up the bread knife.

“I don’t feel safe with you holdin’ that. Be careful, will ya? Want me to cut it instead?” Zelaide offered, watching Euphemia trying to cut the long loaf of bread into thin slices suited for dipping.

“I can do it… I told you I’m used to knives.”

“So says the woman who cut her finger last time. And don’t dissect the bread.”

“I am not dissecting the bread.”

I knew it—he’s acting nice, even if his choice of words is on the rough side. Is he being nice because it’s me? Am I the only special one out of all the humans he hates? Or is it the more obvious reason, that it’s because I’m his job?

As she pondered the matter, Euphemia realized Zelaide had barely looked at her since he came home. He had rejected her touch when she tried to bandage his cut. Maybe she really was a nuisance to him. If that was the case—

It’d break my heart…

“Yumi?”

“Hm? Oh my stars!” Euphemia returned from her ruminations to discover she had cut up the entire loaf of bread. Oddly enough, each slice of bread was perfectly cut to the same size. “I accidentally overdid it. Can you eat it all?”

“Yeah.”

Euphemia handed him the bread on a plate and quickly returned the knife to the knife block.

That was bad. I’m the one acting funny.

“U-Um, on another note…you’re welcome to turn me down if you aren’t okay with it, but my coworkers who you met before have been on my case about wanting to eat out with you—Ah! Never mind! Sorry!”

She spoke the truth—everyone at work (especially her female coworkers) suddenly started acting all friendly with her since they laid eyes Zelaide. They would randomly start up a conversation as if they were friends, then end it by insisting on eating out with him.

But Euphemia backtracked mid-sentence because she realized it was the worst possible time to bring it up. She was panicking—there had to be a limit to how clueless someone could be! Humans had just inflicted wounds on him, yet here she was, inviting him out to eat with more humans.

Dummy! How could I be so stupid?! Zel hates humans!

“Um, forget about it! It’s a bad idea. You must hate the thought. It’s obvious you would, this is just a job to you. Everyone’s been pestering me to ask you when you can make it, so I just had to ask to carry out my part to get them off my case. So, I’ll just turn them down and tell them you don’t want to.”

“I don’t mind.”

“…Come again?” For a second, Euphemia couldn’t comprehend what he said. She gaped at him.

“All I have to do is join them for a meal once. That’ll get them off your case, right? I’m good with that. I’ll go for you.”

“You will? Really?”

“Yeah. On two conditions. Pick a smaller restaurant facing a road with an unobstructed view. And keep the place and time a secret until just before the meet up. You can never let down your guard.”

“Okay!” Euphemia was beside herself with joy over Zelaide’s unexpected agreeability.

She was positive she was burdening him and he would only put up with this once, but she was genuinely happy about it. She had been locked indoors for weeks. Euphemia wasn’t an extrovert by any definition, but she grew bored only ever leaving the house to go to work.

This will be the first and last time. I’m going to make whatever memories I can with Zel, even if he only thinks of me as work…before our time together ends forever.

Euphemia began cleaning the already clean kitchen, hiding her desire to hum a song and do a little dance. Never the least bit aware of Zelaide’s eyes intently following her back.

†††

“ZEL! Over here!” Euphemia ran over to Zelaide with a big smile.

He turned around as if he only just noticed her, but of course his ears had discerned the sound of her running toward him from a distance. Several more pairs of feet followed behind her at a slower pace—all the lighter and clack-ier sounds of other women.

Picking her up in front of the laboratory’s gate was already a part of Zelaide’s daily routine, and he knew how to avoid drawing attention. Problem was, hiding from people purposely making a beeline for him wouldn’t go over well.

“Zel, baby!” Sonia, Euphemia’s beautiful coworker, shoved Euphemia out of her way to greet him, hearts in her eyes.

Since their initial chance meeting, Sonia had managed to get Zelaide to remember her name after tenaciously hounding him every day. But no one, aside from Euphemia, knew him by any other name than Zel.

His name wasn’t known to the general public, but the name Zelaide Silvergray was infamous among his peers, so Euphemia paid extra care not to say his full name in front of her coworkers to avoid unwanted prying from them.

“I’m so thrilled you accepted my invitation today,” Sonia purred. “Let’s drink to our heart’s content tonight!”

“Hey, Sonia! What do you mean it was your invitation? Huh?” Euphemia retorted in a tight voice.

Today was indeed the day of the dinner party Euphemia’s coworkers had relentlessly pestered her to invite Zelaide to—or rather, to feature him as the guest of honor.

Ready and waiting to make advances on the tall, muscular man dressed in all-black leathers inappropriate for a dinner party, Sonia clung to Zelaide’s arm wearing a skimpy dress with a daring slit that went up to her thigh. Euphemia outright frowned at her coworker’s excessive antics.

“Didn’t you hear I don’t like alcohol?” Zelaide smoothly slipped out of Sonia’s hold and placed a reasonable distance between them.

Seeing him act like that gave Euphemia mixed feelings. His clever, casual escape just went to show how many women he must have dealt with in the same way. Sonia, on the other hand, didn’t seem to read anything into it.

“In that case, let’s eat! The fish at this restaurant is to die for. Let me sit next to you, ‘kay?”

“Then I’m claiming the other seat next to you!” another female coworker chimed in—Cora. She was one of the lucky few who had broken through the deadlock by raffle. Everyone who wanted to go had thrown their names in a hat, hoping to be picked as one of the two women going to the dinner besides Euphemia.

“Hey! Don’t decide things without me!” Euphemia protested, butting in between the two women.

“Oh, why don’t you just sit in front of him then?” Sonia suggested, a smug smile on her lips.

“What?! In front? Wh-What do you want, Zel?”

Euphemia had been looking forward to eating out with Zelaide, but her female coworkers had kicked up such a fuss once they began making plans that she was forced to restrict the outing to four people, including her and Zelaide. Sonia had agreed to the compromise, determining that fewer rivals increased her chances.

Their laboratory didn’t have many female employees, so it took Euphemia by surprise to find that the majority of them wanted in. The research institute’s strict policies on conduct during work hours had prevented them from openly airing their obsessive interest in Zelaide sooner.

“Yumi sits next to me.” Zelaide’s brusque grunt put an immediate end to the scramble for sitting rights. He wanted her by his side so he could protect her at all times, should things go south.

Cora shot Euphemia an annoyed look.

“Sounds like fun. Can I come too?” Ronaldo, the uncomfortably friendly researcher, invited himself into their conversation.

“…Don’t crash our party, Ron.” Sonia threatened, but her icy glare had no effect on him.

“Ouch, that’s cold. Doesn’t it make for a sorry party with just ladies? With me, it’ll be three to two. You get two pretty ladies on your arms,” Ronaldo said to Zelaide, “and I’ll happily take the one. You’ll be my one, right, Mia?”

“Nobody will sit next to you, loser.” Sonia put her hands on her hips.

“…Can I intrude too, then? That will make it a fair three and three,” came an unexpected male voice from behind the group. “I was able to finish my work early for once today and I would love to have a proper meal.”

Surprised by the calm tenor of his soothing voice, they turned around as a group. It was Euphemia’s direct superior, Director Burhardt. He strained a small smile at the young researchers gaping at their germ-specializing laboratory supervisor.

“Director!”

“Whaaat?! The director wants to join?!”

“Geeeeh!”

Everyone aside from Zelaide had something to say about it.

Ronaldo was baffled too. “You really want to come? That’s unusual.”

“I thought I should go out with you guys once in a while…is that a bad thing? I love to hear about what our younger members have to say whenever I get the chance.” Burhardt looked over the group with a gentle smile.

“Don’t be silly! We would love to have you join us!” Euphemia exclaimed.

“She’s right!” Sonia agreed without missing a beat. “You’re the object of everyone’s secret admiration, Director! We all talk about how you act much more like the institute’s president than the actual president does!”

With his approachable personality and contagious enthusiasm for the job, the slender man in his forties was one of the most popular members of middle management at the Municipal Biotechnology Research Institute. Director Burhardt was undoubtedly the strongest candidate for the next president presiding over the entire institute.

“Thank you… Are you all right with me coming?” Director Burhardt’s nearly colorless eyes shifted to Zelaide.

Although the Beast Blood had listened to the whole conversation from beginning to end with guarded suspicion, he simply gave a cool nod of the head before snatching up Euphemia’s hand and walking off.

The rest of the group followed after the pair in high spirits.

†††

THE party of six entered one of the smaller restaurants in the area. Young customers filled most of the available seats in its bright and fancy dining room. It was easy to keep an eye on the activity inside and outside the restaurant despite the booth seats that divided the interior. The main street was dyed orange from the setting sun.

Euphemia followed Zelaide’s rules to a T and hadn’t told anyone their destination until they arrived. She let them bask in the restaurant’s chic design as they settled down around a table close to the entrance.

The table wasn’t big enough, so Zelaide sat alone at the far end. On his right sat Sonia, who was sending him winks and amorously hiking up her dress every second she got. On his left sat Euphemia, and next to her, Burhardt. Across from them were Cora and Ronaldo.

Drawn to their attractive, conspicuous group, young men and women seated farther inside the dining room approached their table and tried to join in their conversation. More than half had their eyes locked on Zelaide.

To their disappointment, Zelaide only gave short, disinterested responses to their attempts at conversation, and when the food arrived at their table, he drank nothing, choosing to devote his attention to scarfing down the foods he liked.

“Wow, you eat like a machine…” Sonia remarked. “Makes sense with how much you must work out to maintain that six-pack of yours.”

“I don’t work out.”

“You don’t? Were you born with a six-pack? And with this pretty silver hair too?”

Sonia scooped up a lock of Zelaide’s silver hair, but he ignored her by shoveling more food into his mouth. He always let his hair grow as it pleased until it annoyed him, whereupon he’d take a pair of scissors to it at random. And still, his hair retained a silken beauty any movie star would have to spend hours in a dressing room to achieve.

“You’re like a silver wolf. I’ve only ever seen a taxidermy wolf before.”

“…Do me a favor and don’t touch me,” Zelaide said, his voice rumbling from a suppressed growl. “I don’t like it when people I don’t know touch me.”

“Whoops, sorry about that. How long do you have to know someone for that to change? Does that just apply to people you aren’t on friendly terms with?”

“Everybody other than me counts as people I don’t know,” Zelaide gruffly asserted and tossed a fried shrimp in his mouth. The possibility Euphemia might be listening never even crossed his mind.

Is that true? Euphemia’s shoulders trembled. Do I fall under that category too? Does he actually not want me to touch him?

“…or so I was thinking, but—Mia?”

“…Oh, I’m sorry, Director Burhardt. I was working through a problem in my head…” Euphemia lied in an attempt to cover up her emotions.

“And here I thought you were listening.” Burhardt offered her a sympathetic yet exasperated smile. “Were you thinking about work? Speaking of which, you disappeared somewhere during lunch break today, didn’t you? If you don’t keep your passion for work in check, you’ll make yourself sick.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. What was it you were trying to tell me?”

“I was proposing that we increase the scope of your research some more. I found your last report of great interest, you know.”

“What?! Do you really mean that?” Euphemia’s attention was instantly stolen by her boss despite her curiosity about what was happening between Zelaide and Sonia.

“Yes. Looking at your results as of late, I believe it’s about time you break free of the restrictions we place on experiments for individual research. You’re a devoted researcher who’s been hard at work ever since you came to our lab. I’m planning to submit a budget request to President Murakami.”

“A budget! Oh my goodness…this is a dream come true. To think those Mongolian gerbils will see the light of day before long…”

“I wouldn’t say your dreams have been realized just yet. The budget won’t be much at first. You can get started by moving your pet gerbils to that room that’ll be opening up soon in the Third Experimental Breeding Pavilion. That’ll give you quite an upgrade in size and equipment. That said, your other work duties won’t change, so you’ll be busier than ever before. Is that all right with you?”

“Yes!” Euphemia exclaimed, absolutely ecstatic.

Up until now, Euphemia had conducted experiments in the main research building using a dozen of the Mongolian gerbils permitted for individual research use, but the breeding pavilion allowed multiple experiments to be conducted simultaneously. In short, Euphemia could form a research team. She now possessed the resources necessary to increase the number of gerbils, upscaling the size and number of experiments. And an even bigger budget would be bestowed upon her if she showed results with the first. This was a huge step forward for her research.

Eradicating Nightz was of principal concern for the Applied Plant and Animal Research Laboratory, so the research institute granted massive budgets to research that produced results. Several of the successes had already been put to practical use as a small seawall against the tidal wave of calamity Nightz wrought.

“Are you certain? You are aware it will increase the number of hours you have to spend at work, yes? Will you be okay after that incident?”

“I don’t mind! You have my sincerest gratitude for your concern, as the one who worried you so.”

By that incident, Burhardt was referring to Euphemia’s brush with death several weeks ago. He had been worried sick about her at the time, and he remained considerate of her to this day. So for her direct superior to ask her to commit more time nonetheless felt like he was truly acknowledging her ability.

“How will things change?” Zelaide cut into the conversation. “Explain.” He had grasped the entirety of their conversation despite looking like he hadn’t been listening at all.

Burhardt looked a little off-put by a Beast Blood addressing him. “Let’s see, I would anticipate the biggest change to be an inability to always return home at a regular time, like she does now. It’s a natural development for those who become team leaders.”

“Me, me! I submit my name as a team member for her team!” Ronaldo loudly interrupted their conversation. “My team’s project has reached a lull, so I’m more than open for taking up something else in addition. Director, please do a man a favor and let me on Mia’s team. I love dem rodents!”

“You, Garcia? Well, I’ll think about it.”

“Then I want in too!” Sonia piped up, leaning toward them from across the table. She had been keenly listening in on their conversation while flashing wily smiles at the young men gathering around their table. “Since I’m joining her team, Zel, you’ll need to drop me off at home when she keeps me late…‘kay?”

“Hahaha! Look who’s a popular lady, Mia. You secured yourself a team in less than a minute,” Burhardt chuckled.

“Err… I don’t know…” Euphemia wasn’t happy to have volunteers with ulterior motives, but she couldn’t complain to their faces with the director sitting there giving his endorsement. She reluctantly turned to her two coworkers and bowed her head. “…I’ll be counting on you then.”

“Great,” Burhardt approved. “But don’t push yourself too hard. Back out if the task is too much for you. You have reckless tendencies,” he admonished, the corners of his eyes crinkling. His compassion brought Euphemia joy.

“Don’t worry, Director Burhardt. I’ll proceed carefully…” Euphemia assured Burhardt, then turned to her coworkers. “Okay, Ronaldo, Sonia, please assist me in my research. Now that we are a team, I am requesting your wholehearted devotion to producing results for this project.”

“Now you’re talking!” Sonia cheered.

“You can count on me!” Ronaldo agreed.

Her two coworkers had hit it off immediately as soon as they realized they had something to benefit from each other.

“I’ll send you two my research data tomorrow.”

“By all means,” Ronaldo said.

“Let’s toast to Team Mia!” Sonia, who had shrewdly ordered a new bottle of wine, held up her glass with a surprisingly earnest expression. The rest of the young men and women repeated the toast in chorus with her.

Euphemia felt her team members were a tad on the undependable side, but even the lowliest of researchers knew the research into the eradication of Nightz wasn’t a game. She was beginning to have hopes for this impromptu team.

Now with a common goal, the team members suddenly clicked with one another, and the meal went on with everyone in good spirits. Things were really starting to kick off for their dinner party.

 

Burhardt nodded to his partying subordinates with a knowing smile and turned his attention to Zelaide. “So…you’re a Beast Blood.”

Zelaide glanced at Burhardt before returning his gaze to the water in his glass.

“Sorry for staring at you. This is my first time seeing a genuine Beast Blood up close… I’m a biologist, but Beast Bloods are entirely out of my field of expertise. With that said, I find them especially fascinating. Ah—forgive me, I spoke out of line again. Being a scientist for a long time has a way of making one speak like this… It’s one of the vices from spending too much time with Petri dish cells. Have I offended you in any way?”

“Not really. Look all you want if I’m that fascinating.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer then. I must say, you have a remarkable body. I don’t want you to think of me like Sonia, but…do you mind if I touch you? I won’t if you would rather I don’t,” Burhardt asked with diffidence.

Euphemia was too busy hitting it off with coworkers talking about the progress her experiments had made to pay attention to their conversation.

“Only if you wipe your hands first,” Zelaide agreed.

“Absolutely astounding… Your muscles are so limber and flexible despite the sheer amount of muscle mass you have. Humans simply can’t gain muscles this way. I can see why you are called a Beast Blood—these muscles are beastly. And you’re very attractive. The girls have good reason to swoon and flock over you. You’re like one of the males of a sexually dimorphic species that develop ostentatious looks for the sole purpose of attracting females.” Burhardt made the comment in good humor, but Zelaide didn’t miss the slight malicious undertones in his voice. The Beast Blood’s teal eyes narrowed. Their eyes clashed for a brief moment.

“I heard you work as a Hunter,” Burhardt said through the tension, as if making small talk.

“I’m just a hired bodyguard right now.”

“Right. Mia needed one because of the thugs who nearly assaulted her a while back.”

That was incorrect—she hadn’t just been nearly assaulted, she was assaulted and very close to being murdered.

Burhardt continued, “I know about Euphemia’s circumstances and background to a certain degree. It’s fascinating that a Beast Blood like you is serving as her bodyguard.”

“It’s work.”

“Yes, it is, isn’t it? …You know, despite her frivolous appearance, she’s actually a very serious girl on the inside. Or, how should I say this to make myself clear? Don’t get any funny ideas or convenient delusions. Would it make more sense if I tell you I want you to keep your relationship as work only? Ah, this comes across as excessively rude to you, doesn’t it? I just don’t know how to put it… I’m terrible when it comes to words.” Burhardt put his hand to his chin and rubbed it between his thumb and index finger as if to prove he truly was at a loss for the right words.

“I’m well-aware. I’m a Beast Blood. You don’t have to warn me. I wouldn’t go for some human woman either way,” Zelaide grunted in a deep voice to the stammering Burhardt and finished his glass of water with one swig.

He suddenly heard a small cry in her direction. A young man who’d joined their table had pulled Euphemia off balance, forcing her on top of his lap. It took the full force of every ounce of reason inside Zelaide to suppress the fiery impulse surging from deep within.

“But it’s also my job to prevent worthless pests from crawling all over her, so try not to be too offended,” Zelaide declared to the dumbfounded Burhardt, his eyes flashing silver-blue. He shoved off his chair.

Awed gasps suddenly erupted from his vicinity. The women in the restaurant had all been struck breathless by the man who now stood at his full, daunting height. Zelaide paid them no heed as he raised his long legs and hopped clear over the table.

Euphemia’s head jerked up at his striking arrival. “Zel?”

“We’re goin’,” he announced as he pulled Euphemia off the man’s lap with one hand. Shooting a death glare at the young man frozen with an idiotic grin plastered on his face, Zelaide pressed his lips to Euphemia’s in one smooth motion. A loud smack of their lips locking together filled the restaurant.

Euphemia wasn’t the only one reeling in shock. The public display of affection committed by the extremely handsome man had stolen the eyes of every person in the room.

“Don’t put your hands on her. It’ll make me angry,” Zelaide declared, scooping Euphemia up into his big arm and carrying her. “C’mon, you’ve had your fun, right? I fulfilled my obligation.” He made his way out of the restaurant with large, swift strides.

Gleeful cries and longing stares from every woman inside chased after his back, smitten by Zelaide’s daring display. Burhardt watched in silence as the strong, corded muscles of the Beast Blood’s back left the restaurant.

†††

A silver car drove through the shopping district within Middle Circle, lit by the remaining daylight. Zelaide smoothly turned the steering wheel, accelerating onto Circle Road. His side profile accentuated his flawless contours and stone-cold beauty.

But appearances don’t always reflect their contents, as Zelaide was actually a mess. He grappled with the torturous feeling of rising panic over Euphemia’s alarming silence—Euphemia, the normally annoying woman who spoke in a sunny voice all the time.

The blonde beauty sat stupefied in the passenger’s seat, her full lips hanging half open.

“Oi…Yumi.”

“…Hyah?”

Euphemia’s incoherent reaction worried Zelaide even more.

“Hey!” Zelaide raised his voice, unable to take the uncomfortable mood any longer. His perturbed shout brought her back to reality and she turned dreamy eyes to the Beast Blood.

“Ehe?” She still didn’t make a coherent sound.

“Don’t be mad! I’m sorry!”

“Eh? Mad? Who? Why?”

The rose-colored fog finally cleared from Euphemia’s eyes. She’d been on cloud nine the whole time, replaying Zelaide’s kiss in her mind over and over. Meanwhile, those same lips which had given her such pleasure were turned down at the corners like a child awaiting his punishment.

“…Did you hate it that much? The, uh…er—kiss thing. You were struggling to get away because you didn’t wanna be on top of that man’s lap in the restaurant, right? It pissed me off and made me feel like I had to do it. That, uh…friendship kiss thing.”

“Friendship…kiss?” Euphemia repeated, the wind quickly going out of her sails.

“Yeah. You gave me one before, remember?”

“……”

“Humans will put their bodies on the line to save their friends, yeah? Did I have the wrong idea?” Zelaide spoke with all seriousness, but the truth was that he hadn’t had the leisure of even thinking things through when it happened.

Only two things had stopped him from slamming his fist into the face of the man who pulled Euphemia on top of him: consideration for Euphemia as the younger sister of the mayor, and not wanting to draw attention to them inside a fancy restaurant. His actions resulted in them standing out in an entirely different way, but what was done was done.

“I thought he’d give up if I kissed you.”

“…Oh. I see.”

I got all excited for nothing. Why do I feel a hole in the pit of my stomach, like I just lost something important? Euphemia wondered, folding her hands together on top of her lap.

“I should have guessed… I thought it was weird.” Crestfallen, she slouched in her seat. Zelaide glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Not at all. It made me happy, not mad. I mean, Zel, you said you don’t like touching other people, and you pointedly dodged my touch when I tried to see your cut the other day. I like you, Zel. It makes me sad when you avoid me like you did then.”

So I’m happy, even if it was just a friendship kiss. I’m super happy if he’s starting to view me as someone closer to him. I won’t tell him that though.

“That wasn’t…because of you.” Zelaide was mentally sucker-punched by Euphemia’s lonely smile. He needed to concentrate on his driving, not her face. “I’m not really—”

“You don’t have to make up excuses for my sake,” Euphemia interrupted. “You went along with my selfish request today and even kissed me. I can’t complain… Anyways, Zel,” she said, quickly changing the topic, “you were talking up a storm with Director Burhardt, huh?”

Euphemia feared that further discussion into the reasons behind Zelaide’s actions would knock her down into an abyss of depression, so she pushed it behind them.

“It’s rare for him to be so open and talkative with someone he’s just met.”

“He wasn’t open and talkative. It was more like probing,” Zelaide said softly, searching for the right word to describe his encounter.

“Probing? What for?”

“He seemed to hate me—or rather what I am: a Beast Blood. He doesn’t trust me as your bodyguard, Yumi.”

“I can’t see why… He’s always so gentle and nice to his subordinates, and passionate about work…”

“To his human subordinates.”

Euphemia didn’t know what to say to that.

“Well, it doesn’t matter either way. I’m used to bein’ hated and resented by humans. But you love your job, right? Your work is going well with him as your boss, yeah?”

“Yeah… He’s finally beginning to recognize the merit of my work…and it’s not because of who my sister is.”

“You guys were talking ‘bout some kinda new research. Won’t that make you busier than before?”

“Should I not have accepted? Since increasing my workload will increase yours as well.”

“Nah, it’s a part of the job. Sounds like a good deal for you, too.”

“Yup, it’s a great deal! I want to help this planet out! Isn’t it amazing that teeny-tiny narcotic-eating gerbils could be the answer?”

“That’d make ‘em a gerbil narc force then.”

“Yup! My platoon of Gerbil narcs will save the world! Ahaha!” His rare attempt at making a joke had tickled Euphemia pink. “Oh yeah! I had some extra time during lunch today, so I did a little secret digging of my own.”

“You mentioned that earlier. What were you digging into?”

“I was looking into that creepy snakelike Muta that snuck into my bathroom.”

“I remember the thing. It looked like bottles with suction cups and scales. You were able to find it?”

Zelaide had unfortunately disposed of the corpse right away at the time, which had given Euphemia the hard job of relying on his memory of its appearance to look it up.

“Yup.”

“I’m surprised you could figure it out.”

“Right?! That’s your fault! You just had to go and chuck the corpse down the disposal when I explicitly told you to keep it for me to examine!”

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. What’d you find out?”

“It’s a rare species of Muta called Chude. I found several pictures, but I scoured our database and couldn’t find any specimens among the institute’s collection.”

“I’ve never seen one before or heard of any Hunting jobs for ‘em.”

“Our specimen collection is supposed to be the best on this planet. I thought there was something more to it, but I couldn’t access the information with my personal IHT, so I used a normally untouched RUN to access a higher-clearance databank. It’ll leave a record that I accessed it though.”

“Did it do you any good?”

“Oh yeah. Get this: that species of Muta has been extinct for a long time. Records say it went extinct 200 or so years ago. That coincides with records of a sudden glacial freeze. As a sensitive creature, it couldn’t adapt to the changing environment and died out.”

Zelaide put words to the most obvious contradiction. “It’s extinct? How did it end up in our bathroom then? Sole survivor or somethin’?”

“That’s where things get interesting. I found record of researchers at the time preserving the valuable Chude eggs and sperm through vitrification for cryopreservation—they froze it, in other words. Believe it or not, our institute has them in a special storage facility.”

“What?” The air around the Beast Blood grew sharper than a blade. “The Bio Institute is keeping somethin’ like that?”

“Yup. The question is: how does that play into what happened? Could it be possible someone stole the eggs, defrosted them, and then incubated the fertilized eggs? They would need delicate equipment and the exact facilities to pull it off though… And it would take a significant amount of prep work to infiltrate the institute. Doing it inside our laboratory would make the whole process easy… Do you think someone stole the Chude after secretly fertilizing the egg with the sperm and hatching it?” Euphemia deduced, working it out in her mind. “If they did…I think it would be impossible for someone unaffiliated with the institute.”

“You’re sayin’ it’s an insider job? Any way to find out who it could be?”

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t know how to find out without help. I’m too scared to ask anyone for help though, if there really is someone on the inside. It could be anyone.”

“Good call. So, where are the sperm and eggs stored?”

“Somewhere inside the research pavilion that handles Muta. Thing is, it’s completely outside my field. The Muta laboratory is extraordinarily large. And research institutes like ours close off their sectors even to people from related sectors.”

The Municipal Biotechnology Research Institute was the culmination of monumental achievements and profound knowledge. In addition to its individual research facilities dedicated to specific fields, the institute also housed state-of-the-art laboratories, vast storage facilities, and entire experimental farms in its extensive territory. Very few people were even aware of all it encompassed.

“What about that boss of yours? I’d only risk it if you can trust him, though.”

“Director Burhardt? I’m not sure about him. He might be willing to help, but it’s not easy for me to ask. He just promised to put his neck on the line for my research project, so I have qualms with requesting something else on top of that…”

“Then what about asking your sister?”

“You think we should go to her too, Zel? I was actually just thinking the same thing. Erica should have more than one path available to her for finding out the truth. But it bothers me to think that I’ll wind up unable to do anything on my own again. I hate always having to rely on someone else…I really do.”

I’ll end up just like the kind of person Pal said I am. Euphemia heaved a monstrous sigh and drew her lower lip between her teeth.

“What are you so hard on yourself for? Isn’t it smart to use whatever tools and opportunities you have access to? Don’t forget, you’re up against some sadistic thug gunning for your life. And if that’s not bad enough, nobody can guarantee anybody’s safety if there’s a traitor running ‘round inside that advanced facility of yours. The mayor has plenty of reasons to cooperate with you.”

“You know what, that’s a pretty good argument!”

Zelaide’s blunt and pragmatic words knocked the weight right off of Euphemia. She instinctively sat up straight when she caught him glancing at her, his hands steady on the steering wheel.

“Yeah…yeah, I’ll do that! I’ll bring it up with Erica as soon as I can.”

“You do that.”

“Okay!” Euphemia nodded her head, when—

KA-BOOM!

Fire suddenly erupted in an explosive boom one block in front of their car.

“What the-?!”

“Don’t stick your face out!” Zelaide barked, grabbing her arm and pulling her back into the seat.

There had been some kind of explosion. People on the sidewalk instinctively ducked down as a heat wave shot out a second after the sound. An unsettling vibration ripped through their accelerating car.

“Oh my stars!” Euphemia cried out, sinking down against the passenger’s seat.

“Hold onto your seatbelt!”

The cars in front of them came to a sudden halt one after the other as their automatic break systems kicked in. Zelaide swerved the car into a side road, skillfully dodging the other vehicles.

“What happened?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Sounded like a huge accident…if it was an accident.”

“And if it’s not an accident?”

“It’s an incident,” Zelaide said, his voice hard. “I know you’re curious, but now’s not the time. I’ve hit the switch to black out the windows. It’ll help, but don’t go sticking your face out.”

The silver car advanced smoothly down the park road with an unobstructed view of its surroundings. Barely anyone was outside. The presence of a normal summer dusk spreading beyond the windshield beckoned them with a false sense of security, like the explosion had never happened.

Unfortunately, things were in a horrible state several blocks ahead. From the look of things, it was likely people had sustained fatal injuries or died. Zelaide kept a watchful eye on their surroundings as he pulled the IHT off his dash and pressed it into Euphemia’s hands.

“Look into what happened, Yumi. I have to keep my eyes peeled.”

“Okay. Our location…” She swiped her finger over the GPS map. “…So, around here. I’m sure those who witnessed it are talking about it on the DataNet. Give me ten seconds.” She quickly operated the screen with her fingers, springing up countless images within seconds.

“What’d you find?”

“Nightz…” she answered, her voice bleak.

“Nightz?” Zelaide repeated, his tone sharp.

“Yes. It looks like a Nightz addict walked into the middle of the intersection with a bomb of some sort and blew himself up. Two cars crossing the road were caught in the blast… Reports have several people dead, including the bomber. More will be posted later.”

“How’d they know the bomber was a Nightz addict?”

“Because the man shouted that he was going to take revenge on the people who wouldn’t give him Nightz as he leapt into the intersection.”

The highly addictive, dangerous narcotic secretly circulating through Gothic City was to blame yet again. The gorgeous Night Bloom hid a terrifying darkness capable of leading mankind astray within its ostensibly innocent seeds. Though Euphemia’s sister Erica had promised the public she would eradicate Nightz in her campaign pledge, and word had it that the police were steadily squashing the drug networks, secret demand brought unscrupulous stashes, creating a source of new tragedy.

Blaring sirens came from afar and began to gather at the scene. Emergency vehicles arrived one after the other. TV stations would follow soon after.

Just how much damage had been done? The shopping district was always full of people at this hour. Had children and the elderly been swallowed up in the blast?

Unforgiveable… Euphemia chewed on her bottom lip.

“My research will definitely produce results. I can’t stand watching Nightz cause more suffering than it already has,” Euphemia said decisively.

“…But tons of people are addicted to Nightz. Won’t you end up as a target if word of your research’s success gets to them, Yumi?”

Being the Mayor’s sister, Euphemia already had a massive target on her back from Erica’s political opponents. Drawing the ire of irrational druggies was the last thing she needed.

“Isn’t that what I have you for, Zel?”

“Me?”

Their car was already cruising through the eastern district, where Euphemia and Zelaide’s neighborhood was located. As expected, the aftermath of the explosion hadn’t reached this far; people were walking calmly down the streets. Relief lifted some of the tension from Euphemia’s shoulders.

“Yup, you. Erica hired you for three months, but can’t we extend that? I’ll work hard to earn the money to pay you.”

“Do you have any idea how much I cost?”

Hiring a first-rate Hunter for a whole day would, on average, cost a blue-collar worker from Under Circle about a ten days’ salary. In addition, Zelaide was rank SSS. In other words, he stood at the top of the best of the best.

“No idea. Are you pricey? Do you give a friend’s and family discount?” she ventured.

“No.” Zelaide swallowed a sigh and drove the car through the soundlessly opened gate.

At her wits’ end, Euphemia stared at him. She would have to quit her job and return under her sister’s protection if he washed his hands of her.

The corners of his mouth turned up in a doleful smile, which he hid by not looking her in the face. “But I’ll protect you anyway. I’ve gotten this involved with you already. If you were hurt in any way…”

I’d be the one who couldn’t stand it.

Zelaide let his comment trail off, but what he did say was enough for Euphemia. Her face lit up brighter than the setting sun.

“Do you mean that for real? Can I pay you back after my research makes it big? Honestly, I don’t want to put a bigger debt on my sister.”

“Do you honestly plan on making it big?”

“I do! I will!” Euphemia grinned at Zelaide’s exasperated question.

“Okay, I’ll look forward to that day. Take care of my retirement for me.” Zelaide ducked out of the driver’s seat the moment he pulled into his driveway, his strong shoulders held wide as he made long strides toward the entryway. Euphemia skipped up the steps as she chased after him.

“Leave it to me! I love you, Zel!”

“GAH! Hey, don’t cling to me! Let go of my arm!” he shouted as Euphemia wrapped her arms around his. A tiny pterosaur soared happily down from the skies above and circled over them.

“Chwirk! Chwirk! Chwirk! Chwirk!”

“Tip! We’re home!”

In the moment, Euphemia forgot all about the men trying to kill her and the tragedies around her, and reveled in the ultimate bliss of simply being alive. The front door welcomed them in and quietly closed behind them as Gothic City moved on, accepting the evening as it did every other.